Introducing MISHAPS: The Multi-band Imaging Survey for High-Alpha PlanetS

The Multi-band Imaging Survey for High-Alpha PlanetS (or MISHAPS), of which I am the principle investigator, has been selected as a NOAO survey program. Beginning in June 2019, over 3 years it will spend 38 nights repeatedly surveying a single field in the Galactic bulge using the wide-field camera DECam on the Blanco 4-m telescope to search for hundreds of hot Jupiter exoplanets.

The survey is designed to test if the distribution of chemical elements plays a significant role in the formation of hot Jupiters. Compared to stars near the Sun, stars in the Galactic bulge tend to have more “alpha” elements relative to iron. Alpha elements, such as oxygen, silicon, and magnesium, are components in water and carbon monoxide molecules, and in dust grains, all of which play important roles in the planet formation process.

I’ll share more details about the survey in the future…

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